Guard for fire and smoke protection



March 25, 1969 H. F. DOBSON 3,434,252

GUARD FOR FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION Filed March 51, 1967 IN PEN TOR Howard FDObJOIa ATTWZNEY United States Patent 3,434,252 GUARD FOR FIRE AND SMOKE PROTECTION Howard Franklin Dohson, 410 Rogers Road,

Dunlieth, Wilmington, Del. 19801 Filed Mar. 31, 1967, Ser. No. 627,424 Int. Cl. A62b 3/00; E04b 1/347; E06b 9/08 US. Cl. 52-29 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE,

A roll of fire resistant material is mounted in an elevated position on the side wall of a building such that when released the material unrolls to form a protective enclosure comprising the material and the enclosed fioor and wall portions of the building.

This invention relates to a fire and smoke protection enclosure which is capable of being conveniently stored in a position for ready use.

There have been many instances of persons who have lost their lives when they became trapped in a burning building and were unable to reach safety in time. Oftentimes a person hasbeen able to reach an exterior window or other opening in the building only to be overcome by heat or smoke before a ladder could be directed to the window or a net positioned on the ground. Due to the extreme heat of fire, many panic and jump to their death before help can reach them.

In all of these cases a life might have been saved had there been readily available at the Window some means for temporary protection from the extreme heat and smoke of the fire. Unfortunately, no readily usable protective device has been available at a sufficiently low cost to afford a practical means of saving lives.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved low cost guard for fire and smoke protection of individuals within buildings. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved fire guard which is capable of being stored for immediate use.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention a fire re sistant, heat reflective enclosure is formed from a roll of flexible sheet-like material. This roll is mounted in an elevated position on a wall of the building, preferably adjacent a window or other opening to the outside. The roll is mounted such that it may be quickly released and allowed to fall to the floor, unrolling as it falls. In its unrolled condition the guard comprises a main sheet-like section and two side sheet-like sections. Both of the side sections are generally triangular in shape. The bottommost portion of each of the main and side sections has included a rod for purposes of weight and to provide a rib structure. The ends of the rods in the side sections protrude and are adapted to engage receptacles in the lower wall portion of the building. Thus assembled, the fine and smoke enclosure comprises the building wall and the subject window, the main sections, the two side sections, and the enclosed portion of the floor. Protected in this manner, a person may withstand the heat and smoke from a fire for a reasonable time and thus await rescue with an improved degree of safety.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view of the fire protection enclosure of this invention in a stored position above a window;

3,434,252 Patented Mar. 25, 1969 FIGURE 2 is an elevation view of the fire and smoke protection enclosure of this invention immediately after it has been unrolled;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation view of the fire and smoke protection enclosure of this invention fully installed;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation view of the fire and smoke protection enclosure of this invention fully installed;

FIGURE 5 is a side view taken through the section line 5-5 of FIG. 1 showing the mechanism by which the fire and smoke protection enclosure of this invention is stored and released.

In the drawings there is seen a fire and smoke protection enclosure in its stored position above a window 10 in the outside wall 12 of a building. The fire and smoke protection enclosure itself is seen in FIG. 2 to comprise three sections, a main guard section 14 and two triangular shaped side guard sections 16 and 18, respectively. Each of the guard sections 14, 16, 18 preferably are formed of a flexible material that is both fire resistant as well as heat reflective so that it affords protection when assembled to a person standing within the enclosure formed as will be described. A typical material may be asbestos having an aluminum foil outer surface which is exposed to the room in which the fire may originate. Other suitable fire resistant, heat reflective materials may be used as well.

The bottommost portion of the main guard section 14 has a rod 20 secured thereto, as may more clearly be seen in FIG. 3. This rod 20 may be of wire or other metal material whose purpose is to provide weight and a rib to support and provide form for the enclosure. In like manner, both of the side guard sections have a rod 22 secured to their bottommost portion as may be seen most clearly in FIG. 4. The ends 24 (FIG. 2) of the rods 22 protrude and are adapted to engage receptacles 26 formed in the baseboard 28 of the building wall 12. The rods 20, 22 may be secured within a fold at the bottom of the sheetlike sections 14, 16, 18that is, they are sewn or otherwise fixed to their respective sheet or they may be withdrawally seated in appropriate sleeves in said sheet.

The fire protection enclosure is seen. to comprise a four sided structure formed by the main guard section 14, the side guard sections 16 and 18, the wall 12 of the building including the window 10 or other opening and the portion of the floor enclosed therein. A person standing within the enclosure and adjacent the window may open the window, breathe fresh air, and await rescue.

In storing the fire protection enclosure the protuberances 24 are removed from the receptacles 2'6 and the rods and side sections are folded back over the main guard section 14, as is seen most clearly :in FIG. 2. Thus folded, the main guard section and side guard sections are now rolled up into a roll 34 and positioned on a shelf or ledge 32 as is seen most clearly in FIG. 5. The shelf 32 is secured rigidily to a front valance-like piece 33 which is present for decorative reasons. It is not necessary to use valance 33, for the entire protective assembly may be mounted directly on the wall or ceiling or in receptacles therein, and such mountings can be spring or gravity actuated to open cover doors, if present, and to eject the protective assembly to cause it to fall to the floor. One end of the sheet-like material of the roll 34 may be secured as by suitable screws 36 to the wall 12 of the building, or, as in the illustration: of FIG. 5 the screws 36 may be attached to a mounting plate 38, which may be constructed of wood or other suitable material, itself attached to the Wall 12 of the building as by screws 40.

The shelf 32 and front piece 33 are pivotably mounted as by a hinge 42 to an L-bracket '44. The L-bracket 44 is attached to the mounting plate 38 by a screw 40. A pivot arm 50 is attached to the front piece 33 closely adjacent to the hinge 42, so that when the outer end of the pivot arm 50 is moved downwardly as by a person pulling on a cord 52, the entire shelf 32 and front piece 33 move outwardly as denoted by the arrow 53 and the phantom lines. This permits the roll 34 to fall free down to the floor of the room to the position shown in FIG. 2. The various conponents in phantom position are denoted by their reference numerals bearing the prime designation.

Prior to use the fire protection enclosure initially is in its stored position. If a person is trapped by a fire out of his control and threatening him, he runs to the window 10, pulls on the cord 52 to release the roll 34 of the flexible material. He then steps between the main guard section 14 and the window and introduces the protruding ends 24 of the side rods 22 into the receptacles 26. He is now reasonably protected for a period of time from the heat as well as the fumes of the fire and is free to open the window 10 and shout for help.

The device of this invention affords a relatively low cost fire protection enclosure that is capable of being stored inconspicuously when not in use.

While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and certain structural and procedure details, it is clear that changes, modifications or equivalents can be used by those skilled in the art; accordingly, such changes within the principles of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the claims below.

What is claimed is:

1. A guard for fire and smoke protection in a building, coacting with a floor therein which guard comprises a roll of flexible material that is fire resistant and heat reflective, said roll unrolling into a main wall guard section and two side guard sections and forming a floored enclosure.

2. A guard in accordance with claim 1 which includes means for mounting and holding said roll in an elevated position above a portion of the floor of said building.

3. A guard in accordance with claim 2 which includes means for releasing said roll to allow it to fall to the said floor portion.

4. A guard in accordance with claim 3 which includes means for anchoring each of said side sections to the adjacent wall portion of said building to form an enclosure comprising said main wall of the guard, said side sections of the guard and the respective floor and wall portions of said building.

5. A guard in accordance with claim 4 in which said anchoring means comprises a rod in each side section that protrudes beyond the edge of said section and a receptacle contained in said wall portion of the building to receive and hold said protruding rod.

6. A guard in accordance with claim 1 in which said side sections are capable of being folded to lie on said main wall section of said guard and to be rolled up therewith.

7. A guard in accordance with claim 1 in which said main wall section of said guard has a rod as part of its bottornmost edge,

8. A guard in accordance with claim 2 in which said mounting and holding means comprises a horizontal shelf for holding said roll which shelf is anchored to a pivotable member.

9. A guard in accordance with claim 3 in which said releasing means comprises a pull string anchored to said mounting and holding means, activation of said pull string effecting the pivoting of said mounting and holding means into a position dumping said roll.

10. A guard in accordance with claim 1 which includes means for mounting and holding said roll in an elevated position above a portion of the floor of said building which means comprises a horizontal shelf for holding said roll which shelf is anchored to a pivotable member and which includes a means for releasing said roll to allow it to fall to said floor portion unrolling as it falls, the roll being anchored at its uppermost end to a portion of a subject wall of said building and the roll including a rib structural element to convert said guard into the form of an enclosure that is defined by said main wall, said side guards, said floor portion and said subject wall section of said building.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 253,568 2/1882 Willie 160-22 284,872 9/1883 Mallory 160-22 405,549 6/ 1889 Greenwald 160-22 450,595 4/1891 Bean l8247 733,916 7/1903 Plucker 16023 743,706 10/1903 Frazee 16067 2,338,378 1/1944 Hardy l60-242 JOHN E. MURTAGH, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 52-63; 16023 

